The news: YouTube users will now be able to stream over 4,000 full seasons of TV shows on the platform for free with ads, with plans to add up to 100 more shows and films every week.
- The list of shows now available includes reality TV hits whose clips are already incredibly popular on the platform like “Kitchen Nightmares,” and a laundry list of shows from eras past like “Father Knows Best” and “Andromeda.”
How we got here: YouTube is late to the ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) TV show craze that Tubi, Roku, and other major streaming platforms like Disney+ and HBO Max are all getting in on, but it’s been inching in this direction for a while.
- It might be cheaper for YouTube to license TV shows than to create its own: In January, YouTube shut down its Originals division, which failed to produce hits on the level of other streaming originals.
- TV is also an obvious opportunity for YouTube, whose viewers are increasingly watching the platform from smart and connected TVs. In 2022, 57% of YouTube viewers will use the platform on a CTV at least once per month, jumping to 60.8% by 2025.